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Still, the project is plunging forward, and producer Jerry Bruckheimer has divulged that Johnny Depp has expressed interest in returning for this installment as Jack Sparrow. In the understatement of the century, bringing Depp back as Jack Sparrow for Pirates of the Caribbean 6 would be a tremendous (artistic) mistake.
Jack Sparrow’s Schtick Grew Tiresome
Let’s get the obvious out of the way first: Johnny Depp still has some fans out there, but he’s also a deeply controversial person embroiled in numerous legal allegations. Even putting all personal matters aside, bringing Depp back for Pirates of the Caribbean 6 is already a bad idea on one front: Depp isn’t a box office draw and hasn’t been for ages.
In the 2010s, Depp suffered a string of box office bombs like Dark Shadows, Mortdecai, Transendence, and countless others reaffirming how his appeal had truly shrunk from the days of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Even when he was playing Jack Sparrow again in 2017, that wasn’t enough to keep Dead Men Tell No Tales from easily becoming the lowest-grossing Pirates of the Caribbean sequel worldwide (and the lowest-grossing entry period domestically). Even from a cynical monetary perspective, Depp’s return doesn’t feel like a slam-dunk financially. Plus, summer 2025 bombs like Ballerina and Karate Kid: Legends proved that bringing back old cast members to rekindle tired franchises isn’t enough to gain audience interest.
Even more importantly, Depp’s Jack Sparrow schtick grew oh so tired as the Pirates franchise went along. In The Curse of the Black Pearl, Depp’s Sparrow was an exhilarating bolt out of the blue who used a drunk exterior to mask a cunning interior life. By the time At World’s End arrived four years later, Depp’s performance had lapsed into an annoying caricature. A decade later, in Dead Men Tell No Tales, the actor’s uber-broad antics had sunk to embarrassingly grating lows. Why would anyone want this character to come back?
